Pose season 3's time jump has been addressed by co-creator Steven Canals.
In an exclusive interview with Digital Spy, the TV boss walked us through the decision behind this leap to 1994 and how it sets the brand-new episodes apart from what's gone before.
"I think what's exciting about the jumps for us has always been that you get to see the evolution of the characters," he began.
Related: American Horror Story's Evan Peters was cut out of Pose for this reason
"That's not to say that we couldn't do a direct pickup and you wouldn't see it, but I think more often than not in television, you tend to see this massive change in a character, from one season to the next. And in reality, it's only been like two months.
"How did they change that much in two months? Jumping two to four years ahead allows us to then really show the way that these characters have evolved," Canals elaborated.
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As it happens, the Big Apple's "ground zero" standing during the HIV AIDS epidemic also came into play.
"The other thing is that New York City, where I was born and raised, is also, in many ways, an unspoken character on the show. So a lot of what was happening in New York at the time, and a lot of what was happening for the LGBTQ+ community, is also critically important in the story that we're telling.
Related: Pose cast and crew members react to the upcoming third season being the last
"This season, we spend a lot of time focused on the HIV AIDS epidemic, and the way that it's impacting the greater community. 1994 was the height of the HIV epidemic, especially in New York, which was really ground zero for it. So it was really important for us to contextualise and ground the story in that time period.
"The other thing is that when we pick up this third season, Blanca's now working as a nurse's aide on the HIV ward. So she's working beside Nurse Judy, and she also has a new lover, Christopher, who's a doctor that also works on the AIDS ward as well," continued Canals.
"We wanted to evolve Blanca's story of being the caretaker, of being the nurturer, of being the mum. So we thought a lot about: 'What's the evolution of that? How do we take all of that to the next level with her?'
"For us, it felt like, 'Oh, with all of her skills, it makes so much sense that she would want to work in a hospital where her caretaking ability will be at its best use.' And her being an HIV positive woman – it just made sense for us to place her there."
Pose season 3 currently airs on FX in the US, while a UK release date has not yet been confirmed.
Organisations including amFAR, Terrence Higgins Trust and the National Aids Trust (NAT) can provide further information on research, testing and treatment for both HIV and AIDS.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Dan is a freelance entertainment journalist. Beginning his writing career in 2014, Dan's work first graced the pages of cult publications Starburst magazine and Little White Lies before moving onto Total Film, Digital Spy, NME and Yahoo Entertainment.
In the film and TV universe, he kneels at the altar of Jim Carrey, Daniel Plainview, Mike Ehrmantraut and Paulie Walnuts.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
